The present invention relates to a debris collecting apparatus, in particular a garden debris collecting apparatus, of the kind which may be used either in a vacuum mode to suck debris into the apparatus or in a blowing mode to discharge a stream of air from a nozzle so that debris can be blown into piles.
Such debris collecting apparatus is already known. In one such apparatus, according to U.S. Pat. No. 4,325,163, a centrifugal impeller is used to take in air through an inlet and blow it through an outlet. In the vacuum mode, debris passes through the impeller, which will inevitably result in wear to the impeller, even though a chopping blade may be mounted on the impeller shaft immediately upstream of the impeller.
It is also known, for example from European Patent No 114,114, to provide a debris collection apparatus in which an impeller is used to create an entrained air flow. In the vacuum mode, debris is picked up in this entrained air flow and carried via a duct to a collecting bag. The debris does not pass through the impeller, thus reducing wear and tear to the impeller. Such a system, however, does have the disadvantage that where the apparatus is being used in the blowing mode, and it is not desired to collect debris, the collecting bag and duct are still attached to the blower, which makes the apparatus heavier and less manoeuvrable for the user.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a debris collecting apparatus in which the above disadvantages are reduced or substantially obviated.